Articles & News

Dreaming about the future

by
Steve Wilcox - 25 June 2019

Around
30 people came to the Prayer Day, at some point during the day, on
Tuesday 4
June at St Peter's church. They had the opportunity to pray for a
variety of things, at different “stations” - with many thanks to
Claire Finney and others for the work that went into organising the
space.

One
of the stations gave an opportunity for people to write down what
their hopes and dreams were for how we might be a blessing to the
Anlaby Communities in the future. Since this connects very well with
our focus for the year, “Sending disciples to bless the Anlaby
Communities”, I thought it would be good to share the ideas and
dreams with you. Let's pray that these things come to fruition! And
if you have other ideas and dreams, do let me or Claire know.

Schools deeply
impacted through Christian governors / helpers going to help with
reading etc, a team leading assemblies / RE etc.

Sport – God will
and can provide financially and spiritually, he will provide, there
is none like him.

Sports Ministry:
holding our own facilities where we can host sports clubs weekly and
holiday clubs and share the love of Jesus with children and young
people.

Bring realisation to
the area that God’s way is the correct path to follow through his
words and that He is good and Holy.

Door to door
ministry: visiting every house in the parishes and giving them the
opportunity to respond to Jesus.

Breathe in life; Show
Grace, compassion and hope; Revive hearts; Work in his power.

Spiritual gifts to be
identified and exercised for the common good. For those who think or
feel they are inferior because they lack human knowledge or skill to
be raised up to effective service; for the proud to be humbled.

Send out disciples to
spread the word of our Lord and welcome all people into our family,
spread the word in every possible way and see how our lives are
changed for the better.

(href=)People
filled with the Spirit, changed (and being changed) by the work of
God and rooted in all he’s done for them, unable to keep quiet. So
sharing with integrity. Ambassadors.

Not by human strength
but by God’s spirit. Help us trust in your word and reflect the
light through our actions, so that even the small things we do will
glorify your name and stand out to others, so they will be overcome
with wonder and want to seek their loving heavenly Father.

Community events that
draw the whole village / area together which will build a sense of
cohesion and unity.

Opening
up St Peter’s as a community hub for drop ins, concerts, art
displays so that the village can see it as their space / resource
and may ultimately feel comfortable to come to more spiritually
orientated activities.

Wearing the armour of God

Many of us are aware of the spiritual battle that we are engaged in as Christians. This article will help us to think rightly about the mighty resources that are available to us as we do so. May God help us to stand firm!

An example of generosity

by
Steve Wilcox

“And
now brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that
God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe
trial, their overflowing joy and extreme poverty welled up in rich
generosity...” (2 Corinthians 8:1-2).

Amongst
other things, Paul is wanting in his second surviving letter to the
Corinthians to encourage the Corinthian Christians to give generously
to needy Christians in Jerusalem as a response to the generosity that
Christ has shown to them. First of all he tells them how the
Macedonian Christians – though poor and in need – have responded
generously. Then he reminds them of the generosity of Christ himself:
“You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was
rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his
poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

I
am in a position to be able to inform the church family about another
act of generosity I have recently witnessed. Most of us will know
that the frontage of the St Mark's hall has been wonderfully restored
in the last couple of months. Most of the funding has been raised
through grant-funding and individual donations. However, there is
still a shortfall. The PCC of St Peter's church has some reserves
available, and it had been proposed that a loan be made from St
Peter's to St Mark's to cover the shortfall (expected to be in the
region of £15,000). However, at a recent meeting of the St Peter's
PCC they decided unanimously that the money would be gifted to St
Mark's rather than loaned. I personally was blown away by this
generosity, and I trust that others will be as well.

Unfortunately,
the present situation at St Peter's is that monthly expenditure is
exceeding monthly income – which is never a good situation to be
in. I am therefore praying that just as the St Peter's PCC have shown
“rich generosity” in response to what Christ has done, individual
members of St Peter's (and St Mark's) will also show rich generosity
to meet the needs of the Anlaby Churches.

Many
of us do already give extremely sacrificially – and I thank God for
that. But I'm also aware that there are new people amongst us who
might be considering whether to start giving financially; and there
may also be others who are aware that they could give more. The Old
Testament talks about the tithe – each member of God's family
contributing 10% of gross personal income towards God's work. The New
Testament doesn't give a precise amount, but it does talk about
giving generously in response to God's grace. In my experience, most
of us can give at least 10% of our gross personal income; some are
able to give more than that. As we do that, we find that God's
generosity overflows all the more to us in response.

So
in the light of the recent generosity from St Peter's to St Mark's,
can I urge each of us to prayerfully consider whether we might also
give more? If you'd like to start or change your planned giving
(standing order or envelope) then do ask for a form which is
available at the back of the church building.

I'll
leave the final words to the apostle Paul:

“Remember
this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever
sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give
what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under
compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless
you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that
you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians
9:6-8).

What to tell yourself every day

Here are some thoughts from Jim Packer's classic "Knowing God" on the most important thing Christians should tell ourselves every day.

What are you looking forward to about Easter?

What are you looking forward to about Easter?

That’s the question that I’ve been asking children as I’ve
been visiting schools in the run up to the Easter holidays. The answers they
give are probably the ones you’d expect. Mainly it’s Easter bunnies – did you
know the Easter Bunny visits children? No, nor did I! – and Easter eggs. Some
are looking forward to the school Easter holidays, and one or two are looking
forward to celebrating Jesus’ resurrection. But Easter eggs is the
overwhelmingly exciting thing about Easter.

I wonder what it is that we – mainly grown-ups – are looking
forward to about Easter? I doubt many of us are holding our breath for the
visit of the Easter bunny. Unless we’re a teacher then the Easter school
holidays probably don’t promise a quieter couple of weeks. And, if we’re
parents, I’m sure we love spending a bit more time with the kids, but restful
it isn’t. Of course, many of us will be secretly looking forward to an Easter
egg just as much as the children are.

But it might be possible that we’re not really looking
forward to Easter that much at all. Maybe it passes us by a bit each year. Yes,
many of us will be in church on Easter morning, and a few will make it on Good
Friday as well. However, apart from that, perhaps Easter passes us by a bit.

The Apostle Paul doesn’t want Easter to pass us by. When he
wrote to the Corinthians, he reminded them, and us, of its centrality to the
Christian faith:

Now,
brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you,
which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you
are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have
believed in vain.

For
what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for
our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on
the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and
then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the
brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though
some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and
last of all he appeared to me also. (1 Corinthians 15:1-8)

He reminds us that the entire Christian faith hangs on the facts
surrounding the first Easter.

There are two facts that Paul tells us are crucial. The
first is that Christ died for our sins.
He took on himself the punishment that we deserve for turning away from God. We
all go our own way to a greater or lesser extent. We don’t – can’t – live the
way God requires of us and we don’t deserve to be his people. The punishment
for this is death. And that’s why Jesus died on the cross. He who had no sin
became sin for us that we can have our sin forgiven. We receive forgiveness by accepting
we deserve God’s punishment, accepting Jesus’ death on our behalf, and trusting
in him. That’s the first fact.

The second is this: he
was raised on the third day. The tomb was empty. He appeared in physical,
bodily form to real-life eyewitnesses – well over 500 of them. People’s lives
changed because of this fact, and some of those original eyewitnesses were
willing even to be put to death rather than deny the facts they had witnessed.
He had beaten death. And his victory over death allows Paul to say later in the
same chapter of 1 Corinthians, Where, O
death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? (1 Corinthians 15:55).
Anyone who has received forgiveness of their sin is united with Christ in his
resurrection and so the sting of death has been drawn. We’re not yet raised
physically with Jesus, but one day we will be.

At schools I ask children to poke themselves to feel that
their bodies are physical bodies. Then I tell them that if they’d seen Jesus
after his resurrection, they’d have been able to poke him just like they’d
poked themselves. Easter points us forward to a real, physical resurrection and
so, if we’re trusting in Jesus, we no longer need to fear death because we’re
heading to be with the physical Jesus in the physical new creation after we’ve
died.

Next in school I open a chocolate Easter egg. They get very
excited. And as I’m opening it, I use it as a prop to represent the stone in
front of Jesus’ grave. It was big and heavy and almost certainly rested in a
pit in the mouth of the cave-tomb Jesus’ body was laid in so that nobody but
nobody could move it. Then I ask the children what’s inside the egg. And it’s
empty, just like Jesus’ tomb was empty on that first Easter morning. He really,
really had beaten death. And that’s lifechanging for us today because when we
put our trust in him, he beats our death too. Death is no longer the end for
those who trust in Jesus.

Celebrating that is something very much worth looking
forward to this Easter. So, if you open an Easter egg this year, remember that,
just like the egg, it’s a true fact that Jesus’ tomb was empty. And that
changes everything!

John
Telford

Church leadership day 2019

by
Steve Wilcox

On
Saturday 9
February 20 members of the St Mark's and St Peter's church family
gathered for the Church leadership day, held at St Mark's church. The
heating wasn't working, but this didn't put us off as we worked
together as a team to ensure that as many electric heaters as
possible were going and we were kept warm by a regular supply of hot
drinks! Overall it was a very helpful day, enjoyed by many. There was
lots of opportunity to get to know each other better over drinks and
lunch.

Our
focus for the day was our theme for 2019 - “Send disciples to bless
the Anlaby Communities.” We were very blessed to welcome three
guests: Revd Jon Jolly and his wife Rachel joined us from Living Hope
church, in the Great Thornton Street estate; and Revd Revd Jonathan
Hill joined us from St Martin's church, West Hull.

After
a time of sung worship, prayer and giving thanks for ways in which
disciples are already being used by God to bless the community, Jon
Jolly shared how God is working at Living Hope church, and some
thoughts on what our priorities should be. The Great Thornton Street
estate is an area of high social deprivation, high crime and
multi-ethnicity. The speaker took us to Mark 6:30-44 to consider how
Jesus viewed the crowd who had gathered to hear him. Jesus had
compassion for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd. And
Christians are to have the same view of those around us, who don't
know Jesus personally: They are sheep without a shepherd. He said
that his prayer for his church family (which by implication should be
our prayer for ourselves) is that we grow in compassion for those
around us – that God's love is shed abroad in our hearts. He
considered what this might mean for our diaries and our resources. In
terms of our diaries, we need to be prepared to die to self for the
sake of others - “compassion has no clock or diary.” And we
shouldn't look at what we don't have – rather we should look at
what God can do (starting with looking at the feeding of the 5,000!)
What an encouragement to us all! May we indeed have the compassion of
Jesus, and may he work in our community through us in this way!

The
second half of the morning was spent thinking about the following
questions (which you might also like to consider): What are the
perceived needs in the Anlaby Communities? What gifts do we have as a
church / individuals? What do we need as individuals / a church to be
able to be a blessing to the Anlaby Communities? What specific ideas
do we have of things we could be doing – as a church / as
individuals?

In
the afternoon Jonathan Hill shared a little of what he hopes St
Martin's will be doing to connect with the community. He then led a
session entitled “An honest conversation about Depression”,
speaking from his own former experience as a mental health nurse.
Many of us will have experienced depression, or will know others who
have. Indeed, it is estimated that 1 in 10 people have a form of
depression at any time. He said far more than could possibly be
included in an article like this, and I for one was left thinking we
would benefit as a church from more teaching on this and related
matters. In the meantime, if you would benefit from receiving a
handout from the session then do have a word with me.

Lent Devotions

Lent
can be a great time for re-establishing a habit of daily bible
reading, and Bible reading notes can be really helpful for that. If
you'd like to do get back into Bible reading this Lent (or if you'd
like a change, or to supplement the other Bible reading you do) why
not try “The
Beauty of the Cross” by Tim Chester
– available from the Good Book Company website. Tim Chester is a well-known writer and speaker, and he takes us
through Isaiah 52-53, a glorious explanation of the purpose of the
cross written hundreds of years before Jesus died. You can also watch
a short video at the above webpage to whet your appetite!

Treasuring God's word in 2019

by Steve Wilcox

On 6th January I mentioned "Treasuring God's word in 2019" as an application of the sermon on Matthew 13:47-52.

Here are a few ways we can do that:

Daily Bible reading: Have a look at www.thegoodbook.co.uk/daily-bible-reading for more information, and to find what's right for you. Do speak to me or John if you'd like more help.

Memorising and meditating on Scripture: A helpful recent article on this can be found at www.desiringgod.org/articles/you-can-memorize-scripture-this-year

ST MARK'S CHURCH HALL APPEAL

by Gill King

As many of you will know, St Mark’s
hall celebrated its 50 anniversary last year! The hall has served the church and wider
community very well over this time, providing a home for numerous groups and
activities.

As a church family we rely on the hall
for basic church operation at St Mark’s, providing our kitchen and space for
activities such as Children’s Church, Noah’s Ark, Light Lunches, fayres/fun
days, holiday clubs etc. Following
closure of the Pre School last summer the hall now offers the Anlaby Churches
with capacity for new mission activities, in-line with our vision to
increasingly be a blessing to the Anlaby communities.

After 50 years the hall is, however,
in great need of refurbishment and improvement.
The PCC has agreed ambitious improvement plans, which are still on
display at St Mark’s. The plans will
take a number of years to come to fruition, and will require a lot of funding!

We are pleased to confirm that the
first phase, to renew the dilapidated frontage, will take place in late
winter/early spring 2019. The new
frontage will be fully insulated and include new double glazed windows and
doors. This phase is costing c.£40,000. We have been blessed with several grants and
kind donations, but still have a shortfall of c. £12,000. The grants already secured are time limited,
and so to avoid losing that money an interest free loan has been offered to
enable the work to go ahead. Of course
this loan will need to be repaid – which will impact our ability to continue
with other improvements.

We are therefore
continuing to appeal for support through prayer and giving. If you feel led to help financially do make
it clear that your gift is for church hall improvements and, if you are a UK
tax payer, whether you can Gift Aid your donation, increasing its value by 25%
at no extra cost to you! Donations can
be made by: cash; cheque payable to ‘St Mark’s Anlaby Common Parochial Church
Council’; or direct transfer (sort 40-25-20, account 70724637).

You could also help by running or
undertaking a fund-raising event or activity - please speak to Steve Wilcox,
Gill King or Chris Finney in the first instance.

Thank you for your support!

A way ahead for 2019

by
Steve Wilcox

A
very happy new year to you! What are you hoping and praying that 2019
might hold? For you personally? For us as a church family?

In
October, following discussion with the warden team and the Church
Councils, I presented a vision for the church family for 2019. [The
talk is still available on our website if you'd like to listen to it
again.] You'll be aware that as a church family we seek to be a
“Christ-centred community, existing to spread a passion for Jesus
Christ in the Anlaby Communities and beyond.” To that end, we focus
on 3 different approaches, one of which is “Sending disciples to
bless the Anlaby Communities.” This will be our focus as a church
family in 2019.

Supremely,
we bless people / share God's love with them by sharing the gospel
with them, because their greatest need is to come to faith in Jesus.
But does it stop there? And is it possible to do that in a vacuum /
without doing anything else?Think of Jesus. He preached; but
he also healed and fed and loved and served. And towards the end of
his ministry he called his followers to live likewise. When asked
“what is the greatest commandment?” he replied: “Love the Lord
your God with all your heart and soul and mind, and love your
neighbour as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39). It's
as if he's saying “Look at me – look at how I've lived; look at
how I've loved. Now you – go and do likewise.”

How
will we seek to do this in 2019?

First
and foremost, the church's job is to mobilise each member of the
church family to go into the world – our workplaces, our family,
our community – to build relationships of love and to share the
gospel in that context as we have opportunity.

Where
there are needs in the community that are being met by others in the
community (or indeed by other gospel-centred churches in the West
Hull area) we certainly shouldn't replicate that as a church, but
rather should join in with what others are doing and seek to share
the gospel at the same time.

But
where there are needs in the community that are not being met, and as
we have capacity, it seems only appropriate to seek to meet those
needs, whilst also sharing the gospel.

At
the Anlaby Churches, we have the added benefit of access to the
Anlaby Communities Trust. This was set up to be the “social action arm” of the Anlaby Churches. In
practice, some projects will fit better under the umbrella of the
Anlaby Churches, whereas others will fit better under the umbrella of
ACT. But ultimately all are seeking to do the same thing – love the
whole person, including sharing Christ with them.

Therefore
during 2019 we will be asking “what are the particular ways in
which we as a church are making connections with the community, in
order that we might build relationships of love, including sharing
the gospel?” There are several ways in which we are already doing
that; but are there others we can develop? How can we build on what
we're already doing? And are there things we're currently doing that
aren't very effective in making connections, and therefore should be
stopped so we can focus on other things? My hope and prayer is that all members of the church family will take the opportunity to contribute to this discussion during the year ahead.

At
the end of my vision sermon I encouraged each person to complete a
“response form.” This was for your own personal use – no-one
from the church needs to see it! But it gives an opportunity to
reflect on how you are involved in connecting with the community, and
how you might pray for God to work through you in the year ahead. The
form is reproduced below; I encourage you to make use of it if you
haven't done so already.

May
God lead and bless us as individuals and as a church family in 2019!

Steve

My personal response

“Love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your mind, and love your neighbour as yourself.” (Matthew
22:37-39).

Thank you Heavenly
Father that I am your deeply loved child. Thank you that we are “a
chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation...” (1 Peter 2:9).

Please grant me:

> A growing love
of people

> A growing
desire for them to know Jesus

> A willingness
to love people and share the gospel as I have opportunity

Ways in which I am
currently connecting with those who don't yet know Jesus:

Ways in which I will
explore connecting with those who don't yet know Jesus:

HULL 2030 LAUNCH

by Steve Wilcox.

Around
45 people (including 35 in church leadership) gathered at Jubilee Central
church in Hull on Tuesday 9
October, for the launch of Hull
2030.

Hull
2030
is a new movement to pray for, facilitate and encourage the planting
of 20 new gospel-centred churches in Hull by the year 2030. It has
come about because of the massive need for new gospel-centred
churches to reach those currently unreached, and therefore the need
to work together wherever possible.

At
the launch we heard about the great need in Hull. I was asked to
speak about the need for the gospel in Hull, and took us to Matthew
9:35-38 and encouraged us to have the compassion of the Lord Jesus as
we see the hundreds of thousands of harassed and helpless sheep
without a shepherd around us. We thought about the extent of the
need, being reminded that in 13 of the Anglican parishes within Hull,
church attendance is between 1 and 8 people for every 1,000 head of
population. Thankfully there is life beyond the Church of England but
the task is still enormous. Positively, the Lord Jesus reminds us
that he is the Lord of the harvest, and encourages us to ask him to
send workers into the harvest field. We need to pray for workers; and
then following the example of the apostles (Matthew 10:1-4) we need
to be willing to be sent / to send others; and we need to work
together. To give an indication of the size of the task, we were
reminded that for 10% of the population of Hull to be in a
gospel-centred church, we would need 128 churches of 200 people (we
currently have 5!), or 256 churches of 100 people. If you include the
areas surrounding the city boundary those figures are increased
significantly.

Steve
Whittington of Jubilee Central then spoke about the importance of
church planting in the mission of God, before introducing John
Walley, pastor of Christ Church Longbridge in Birmingham. John spoke
powerfully about the impact of 2020 Birmingham on the city, and on
his own church and ministry. He explained that 2020 has enabled
different gospel-centred churches to work towards a common vision.
There is an awareness that in a city of millions, there is plenty of
room for lots of different gospel-preaching churches. 2020 has helped
to facilitate the planting of 16 churches already, and is well on
target for 20 to be planted by 2020. He explained that 2020 has
worked in Birmingham for a number of reasons:

>
It's operated as a banner. If it hadn't been for the 2020 banner,
trained gospel workers might have left the city and not returned;
2020 has brought them back.

>
It's helped to create a culture that planting is normal. Churches
have said “we thought we couldn't afford to plant, but we've
discovered that we can.” They've found that God has provided. He
also explained that the vision of 2020 wasn't just that 20 churches
would be planted, but that 20 churches with planting in their DNA
would be planted, so that they themselves will go on to plant other
churches.

>
Leaders of gospel-centred churches have been willing to work together
and to put the advance of the kingdom and the salvation of souls
before everything else.

>
It's enabled a co-ordinated approach to planting – so that church
leaders talk together about which areas most need new churches, and
which are relatively “over-churched” already.

The
prospect of 20 gospel-centred churches being planted in Hull in the
next 11 years is both daunting and exciting, so do please keep
praying for God's work in this city. He has been working in recent
years; we long for him to continue to work. Please pray for
co-operation among gospel-centred churches; for workers to be raised
up; for churches to be planted and ultimately for people to be saved.

our story: Life Group Central Week 3

Our last two Life Group Central meetings have looked at God’s
Story and Your Story.

We saw that God’s Story is a true story of our kind and
generous God who made the world. He created humankind to rule over it under his
good direction. But humans stepped out from under God’s rule, deciding they
could run things better without him. This was called sin. Without God things
went from bad to worse. Death entered the world as a direct result of sin, and
people lived without peace with God or with one another. Things went from bad
to worse until, that is, God sent Jesus, his Son, into the world to show us God
and to die on the cross in the place of all those who trust in him. Everyone
who trusts in Jesus receives forgiveness for their sin because he has paid the
penalty of death. Instead of death we receive eternal life by grace (as a gift)
through faith.

Your Story, if you’re a Christian, is how you have come to put
your trust in Jesus and what difference he makes in your life today. We were so
encouraged to hear one another’s stories of how God has brought us from death
to life, and what living with Jesus is like.

In week three, we thought about Our Story – the difference
Jesus makes among us as Church Family. We read Ephesians 4:1-6 and John 13:34-35.
From Ephesians we found out that God, through His Story of the Gospel has
united all true Christian believers into one body. We’re closer than work
colleagues, friends or even family because we’re more than a collection of
people, we’re one. One, even though we’re many. Look around the Anlaby Churches
and you’ll find real Christian believers in every decade of life from under ten
to over 90. You’ll find real Christian believers from different backgrounds,
different parts of the UK and different countries. And yet God has made us one
in Christ. That’s an unbreakable unity, even if sometimes we need to work on
maintaining it (Ephesians 4:3).

As God’s people, we’re to live God’s way. He’s told us what
that’s to be like. Read through Ephesians 4:1-6 slowly and look at the
characteristics Christians are to display as we live together as one. It’s
totally different from the world around us. It can be summarised as loving one another.

Jesus explains in John 13:34-35 that we’re to live his way
(1) because he loved us and (2) because then all people will know that we are
his disciples. If we live his way we give away the fact that we’re his
disciples, his followers.

What an amazing thing it is to be loved by God so much that
Jesus died for us! And what an amazing thing it is to be part of a loving
church family!

Homework

Our homework this week is simply to spend some time with
members of our Church Family, enjoying one another’s company and getting to
know one another even better. As we know one another so we’re able to know how
best to love one another. Enjoy!

Taking
it Further

If you’d like to take this any further, here’s something to
read, something to watch and something to listen to.

YOUR STORY: LIFE GROUP CENTRAL WEEK 2

What difference does Jesus make? This was the question we
thought about in the second week of Life Group Central. You see, Jesus makes
all the difference. In his brief introductory talk, Gordon Prescott introduced
us to Ephesians chapter 2. It builds on last week’s theme of God’s Story, because the difference
Jesus makes to us is inextricably linked to God’s story – the good news of the
Gospel. You can listen to some of the highlights of the evening here.

Why not read through Ephesians 2 for yourself? You’ll find
it here. Make sure you’ve got a pen and paper handy. Divide your paper into two
columns, a before and after. Under before
jot down what things were like spiritually for people before they trust in Jesus. Then under after jot down
how things were spiritually for Christians after they began following Jesus.
The difference between the two is the difference Jesus makes. I think you’ll be
blown away!

(Here's a quick side note for you if you're reading this and you wouldn't say that you've turned to follow Jesus for yourself by saying sorry for living your life without him and asking him to rule your life. Which column would you say is true of you? Why would you answer that way?)

Next, have a closer look at verses 4 and 7 and think about
this question: Why did God do all this (the difference Jesus makes) for us in
Christ? And have a look at verses 8 and 9 and think about how it is that we have
been changed if we’re trusting in Jesus?

Jesus really does make a massive difference, doesn’t he! And
everyone who has trusted in Jesus for themselves has a personal story to tell.
We were so encouraged around our tables as we shared our own stories of the
ways Jesus has made a difference in our lives. If you’re someone who follows
Jesus for yourself why not think about your own story? What difference has
Jesus made to your everyday life? And if you’re not sure if you’ve put your
trust in Jesus yet, why not find someone who has and ask them what difference
Jesus makes in their life?

Taking it further

Read

John Chapman’s book, A
Fresh Start is a great little book written in bite-sized chapters which
outlines the difference Jesus makes. It’s a great read for anyone, whether or
not you’ve put your trust in Jesus yet.

Watch

Gabby’s Story is a
short piece to camera Gabby explains the difference Jesus makes in her life.

Listen

Debbie Flood has a really interesting story. She’s a retired
Olympic rower and she explains in this piece how much of a difference Jesus has
made to her. Listen to her being interviewed about her life.

God's Story: Life Group Central Week 1

Life Group Central began tonight. We were thinking about God's Story in our new series
called Stories We Tell.

We found that God's story, the
Gospel, is outlined particularly in Romans 1:16-17, 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 and
Galatians 1:6-12. You may want to work through those passages yourself, asking
the following questions of each:

1. How did Paul hear the gospel?

2. Did anyone else hear about it
too? If so, how?

3. What is the content of the
gospel?

4. How should we respond to the
gospel?

5. Are there any promises or
warnings that come with the gospel? (Look for both obvious ones and implicit
ones).

Once you've answered these
questions, try to boil down the gospel into two or three sentences. It may take
you a while, but that's fine - that's what practice is for!

Taking it further

Each week we'll suggest three types of resource to help you take things
further or deeper if you'd like. There'll be something to read, something to
watch and something to listen to. Click on the titles below to find the
resources online. There are a limited number of both books available free of
charge at the back of both church buildings:

Reflections on my sabbatical

by
Steve Wilcox

It's
great to be back with the church family after my period of Sabbatical
(or “Extended Study Leave” as it's officially named!) I visited a
few other churches around the city during the time, and got to the
point at the end when I thought “I don't want to go anywhere else –
just St Peter's and St Mark's!” I did force myself to go somewhere
on that particular Sunday, but it was a great confirmation that I was
ready to return!

So
what did I get up to, and how did God minister to me? I had two
“official” study projects – working through the book of Isaiahwith a view to preaching through it in future; and thinking about the
relationship between Christianity and education.

Isaiah
- It
was thrilling to spend the first part of each day immersed in this
wonderful book. During the time I was reminded that our God is
to be revered and feared; he is the God who is “in charge”; the
God who is holy; the God who has saved his sinful people through the
suffering servant (Jesus) and calls people from all nations to repent
and trust him, and so join the remnant who will be part of the
glorious new Jerusalem and new heavens and earth he will create. What
a glorious God we worship!

Education
- I
spent a large amount of my time reading a variety of books regarding
the Christian foundations of education; the current state of
education in the UK; and what is being done and can be done about
this. I also spoke to a variety of practitioners and academics.
Towards
the end of the period of ESL I collected my thoughts together in an
article entitled “Renewing education for the sake of evangelism in
the UK.” This article is aimed at churches and ministers, and I
hope it will be published soon.

But
I was also encouraged to rest – which I willingly did! It was a
great joy and privilege to spend more time with my family, throughout
the period but also particularly during our holidays. I also took
part in a “Hill and Moorland Leader” course – something I've
always wanted to do!

How
did God minister to me during the time? There are a number of ways
which I'd be happy to talk about in more detail. I would perhaps
summarise it as “better appreciating the need to live in real
moment-by-moment relationship with the living, gracious and holy
God.” We are weak, dependent creatures. We are made in the image of
a loving and holy God. God created us for loving relationship with
him, to depend on him in all things, and to live holy lives as his
image-bearers. and this affects every part of our lives – our work,
our family life, our leisure time.

For
me, I have been learning to live in conscious dependence on God
moment-by-moment – trusting him to lead me in how to use the time
he has given me. I have been discovering what it means to be his holy
people, imaging the God who is supremely holy (1 Peter 1:14-16). I
have been learning what it looks like to lead my family, as Scripture
commands me to do (particularly as a leader – see 1 Timothy 3:4-5).
And I have been experiencing that my whole being – including my
emotions specifically – needs to be redeemed and directed towards
our loving and healing God. Of course, like all of us I'm still a
work in progress, but I give thanks to God for the steps he has
enabled me to take during this period. I've also rediscovered my love
of hill-walking, so watch out Yorkshire Dales, Moors and all the rest
of it!

I'd
like to thank all those who played a part in helping church life to
continue so bountifully during my absence – and in particular John
Telford. And thank you to all of you who were praying for me – it
is greatly appreciated!

Jesus the greatest treasure

by
Steve Wilcox

Treasure.
It's a wonderful word isn't it. It conjures up images of all that we
desire and long for. And Jesus says “the kingdom of heaven is like
treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and
then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field”
(Matthew 13:44). Picture the scene. You're walking through a field
and you stumble over something hard. And
after holding in a curse and a comment about sueing someone you
wonder – what is it? So you look down and see the corner of what
looks like an old box. Now you're really intrigued. You start to dig
– and out comes this large chest. You open it with excitement and –
yes you've guessed it, it's filled with gold coins and diamonds –
worth more than you could ever imagine. What would you do? Well in
the story the man is filled with joy and excitement - “I can't
believe this has happened! With this I can do everything I've ever
dreamed...” There's no question he must have the treasure –
nothing is as valuable to him as this treasure. So he sells
everything he has and buys the field, so the treasure is his.

And
the obvious question is - “what is the treasure?” Jesus says “the
kingdom of heaven is like treasure...” But I think we can get even
more specific than that. The
treasure is Jesus. He's
the king of the kingdom after all. He's the one who above all things
is supremely valuable – and who gives us everything in the kingdom.

How
is Jesus the greatest treasure? Here's what we've discovered about
Jesus so far in Matthew's gospel (and I suggest you sit back and
enjoy these glorious realities – gaze on Jesus with your mind's
eye, as you might gaze on a treasure chest or a beautiful view from
the top of a mountain). Jesus is:

The
one who brings blessing / happiness (5:3-10);

The
one who fulfils and obeys the law perfectly - something we cannot
do (5:17);

The
one who brings great reward in heaven (5:12);

The
one who brings treasure in heaven (6:20-21);

The
one who provides for his people (6:25-34);

The
one whose words give a firm foundation to life and a gate to heaven
(ch 7);

The
one who brings life and healing, who controls nature and raises the
dead (ch 8-9);

The
one with authority to call people (9:9);

The
one who forgives sins (9:2);

The
one who brings in a new age (9:14-17);

The
one who keeps his suffering people going, and cares for them
(10:26-30);

The
one who was fun to be with (11:19);

The
one who spent time with sinners (11:19);

The
one who brings rest for the weary and burdened (11:28-30);

The
one who will not break a bruised reed or snuff out a smouldering
wick (12:20);

The
judge of all (ch 10-12);

The
one whose words bring life and bring us to the Father, and who will
cause us to shine like the sun (ch 13);

And
at Easter we will see – he died on a cross in our place, as the
perfect law keeper taking the punishment we deserve for our
lawbreaking, so that God can view us as law keepers – as
righteous.

And
three days later he rose again, he is Lord of all, he gives life,
and he will return to judge.

Isn't
Jesus wonderful? Jesus is the greatest Treasure. He is the treasure
in the field who is worth giving up absolutely everything else for.
And the more we treasure him, the more we will
know that to be true.

We must fight hard for peace

Here's a helpful article about how to remain at peace with one another - at home, at church, and in other contexts where sinful-yet-redeemed human beings rub shoulders with each other. Lord help us to fight hard for peace!

Steve Wilcox

Invitation for the weary

by
Steve Wilcox - 20 February 2018

We're
all weary and burdened in one way or another aren't we. Some feel
tired and over-busy and that we don't get enough rest; some are
burdened with worries about a relationship, or our children, or
uncertainty; some are burdened with regret – or guilt – or shame;
some are weary with a physical or mental illness – or bereavement
or loss – or old age. And we're not alone. There are thousands of
people in the Anlaby Communities – and in the great city of Hull –
who are weary and burdened like us.

At
the Anlaby Churches we've recently been thinking about this wonderful
invitation offered by the Lord Jesus - “Come to me, all you who are
weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you
and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will
find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is
light.” (Matthew 11:28-30). In the early verses of chapter 12 Jesus
goes on to show us something of what it looks like to rest in Jesus.
Here are three quick lessons we learned, which I hope will be a
blessing to you as they have been to me.

Come
to Jesus the ultimate rest

In
chapter 12 verses 1-8, Jesus is challenged by the Pharisees about his
attitude to the Sabbath. During the course of the discussion, he
shows that he is greater than the Sabbath. In fact, he is showing
that he – Jesus - is the ultimate rest given by God, to whom the
one-day-in-seven Sabbath rest merely points. He encourages us to come
to him, to find our rest in him, and to depend on him for everything.
When we do that, we find that his yoke is easy and his burden is
light – he bears our burdens for us, he deals with our concerns in
ways that we might not have anticipated but which are good and
life-giving. But of course, in order to experience this we need to be
willing to give up control of our lives to Jesus. Are we willing to
do that, and find him to be the ultimate rest?

Come
to Jesus who brings life

In
chapter 12 verses 9-14 Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath and so shows
that he, the Lord of the Sabbath, has come to give life. And we need
to find our life in him everyday. How do we do that? By coming to him
in his word: reading his word the Bible, and seeking to encounter him
and gaze on him and be satisfied. And we can continue to be satisfied
by him through the day as we meditate on what we have seen of him. I
have been greatly encouraged over the last few weeks by continually
thinking about Matthew 11:20-30 quoted above. Why not try this
yourself, and see what a positive effect it has on you?

Come
to Jesus who deals gently with us

In
observing Jesus's response to the Pharisees, Matthew points us to the
promised servant of Isaiah 42. He's saying “Jesus is the servant
promised by Isaiah 42.” And the servant is a wonderful figure –
who ultimately dies for his people (Isaiah 53). Amongst other things,
we're told of this servant that “a bruised reed he will not break,
and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out.” (Matthew 12:20). I
wonder if you identify with the image of a reed by a wind-swept
river, blowing to and fro, bruised, constantly in danger of being
broken? Or with the image of a candle that once had a bright flame –
but whose flame is now flickering, smouldering, in danger of going
out? The wonderful truth is that when Jesus sees a bruised reed he
doesn't break it; when he sees a smouldering wick he doesn't blow it
out. I heard recently this quote – that the need of every human
being is “To be known completely, yet loved unconditionally.”
Jesus
knows everything about us – our weakness, our failing, our regret,
our burdens – and yet for those who are united to him through faith
he loves us unconditionally. We
can come to him – we can open up the darkest parts of our souls to
him – knowing that he will not send us away.

Three
glorious reasons to come to Jesus – trusting that as we cast our
burdens on him, he will give us rest. And as we find Jesus to be our
rest, we'll be only too happy to point others to the one who gives
rest to the weary – and we pray that over the years many thousands
in our community and city who are seeking rest will find it in Jesus,
just as we have.

If
you'd like to hear more about the wonderful rest that Jesus offers,
do listen on the website to the recent sermons on Matthew 11:20-30,
and Matthew 12:1-21.

Pray for workers

by
Steve Wilcox

At St Peter's and St Mark's
we began 2018 considering some words from Matthew's gospel which I
hope will help each of us know what to pray for in the year ahead:

'When he saw the crowds,
Jesus had compassion on them, because they were harassed and
helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his
disciples, “the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask
the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his
harvest field.”' (Matthew 9:36-38)

With these words, Matthew
gives us a precious insight into the heart of Jesus. He has
compassion for the people he sees. Think of the last time you felt
compassion towards someone – perhaps someone you met who was in a
difficult situation, or someone you saw on the news. Jesus has
compassion for the whole crowd, because they are “harassed and
helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” This is the need
that Jesus sees – and it's the need that he wants us to see as
well. What do you see when you walk about in Anlaby, or in Hull? Look
beyond the self-satisfied smile that communicates “I'm alright
thank you.” This person is struggling to make ends meet
financially. That person is falling apart emotionally. Each person
without Jesus is facing an eternity of separation from God. Do you
see those around you as harassed and helpless, sheep without a
shepherd? Do you have compassion for them? Ask God to give you
compassion.

But that's not all Jesus
sees. He also sees a harvest. “The harvest is plentiful.”
Jesus knows that God is calling numbers of those people, and that
numbers of them will end up being part of God's family. We don't know
who he's calling; but he is calling people. And this should give us
great confidence. But there's a problem. “The harvest is plentiful
but the workers are few.” The number of workers isn't enough to
bring the full amount of the harvest – the full amount of people
that God is calling to himself.

What is the solution
to the problem? It is to pray. “Ask the Lord of the harvest,
therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Jesus is
the Lord of the harvest. He is more than able to send workers to
bring in the harvest. And he tells us to ask him to do so. This is
how God works – when he plans to act, he prompts us to pray first.
As one person has written,
“Before
God enables his people to bring in a harvest, he pours out a spirit
of prayer on them” (John Piper). This has always been the case.

And
the encouraging thing for us as we start 2018 is that this is
something all of us can do. Our motto this year is “In Christ we
can do that.” All of us can pray that the Lord of the harvest would
send workers. Perhaps you're housebound,
unable to get out to church or to meet with others. Well – can I
plead with you to do the most important thing, which is to pray for
workers in the harvest field. Perhaps you're the only
Christian in your workplace or your school
and you'd love to have a colleague you can pray with. Then pray for
workers in the harvest field. This prayer – for workers in the
harvest field – has been called “the
second Lord's prayer.”
There are very few prayers that Jesus instructs us to pray – but
this is one of them. So let's make it a priority this year to pray it
regularly – perhaps daily.

Let's
make 2018 a year of asking the Lord of the harvest to send workers
into the harvest field. And he will!

Vision 2018

by
Steve Wilcox

On Sunday 8
October I set out the Vision of the Anlaby Churches for 2018. You can listen to the talk here. For
those who don't know, we are “a Christ-centred community
existing to spread a passion for Jesus Christ across the Anlaby
Communities and beyond.” We seek to do this by Making disciples
who make disciples; Resourcing Mission in West Hull; and Sending
disciples to bless the Anlaby Communities.

The Anlaby communities, and
the city of Hull, are desperately needy. They are needy in many ways
- but most of all they are spiritually needy. There
are 13 parishes in Hull where between 1 and 8 in every thousand head
of population attends their local Anglican church. Non-Anglican
church attendance doesn't improve the figures very much. The
situation in the Anlaby Communities isn't much better – less than
2.5% of the population of the Communities attend church regularly.
What can be done to alleviate this catastrophic situation? “How can
they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they
hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach
unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:14-15).

We would love to work with
other gospel-centred churches to help to meet this need – including
by planting churches across the city. However, we are not in a
position to do that yet, and so in 2018 we will focus on “Making
disciples who make disciples.”

We
all want to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ – knowing him better,
and discerning how best we can serve him. To that end:

>
we will continue to encourage one another to be part of a Life Group;

>
we will encourage one another that 'In Christ, we can do that' -
whether 'that' is daily praying, reading the Bible, sharing our
faith, or serving the church or community in some new way;

>
we will seek to equip people to serve God in the ways he is calling
them;

>
we will think and pray about how the whole of church life can be
focused on growing as disciples. To that end, the Ministry team will
work through a book called “The Vine Project”; they will feed
back their findings to the Church Councils, to Church Family Night,
and (from time to time) to the Sunday congregations. Do listen out
for more on this! And do pray that the churches would be more and
more geared towards Making disciples who make disciples.

There
are also various things we hope to do with financial implications. Do
ask for a copy of our 2018 “Giving to support our Vision” leaflet
if you would like more information about this. And if you would like
to start giving regularly, do pick up a leaflet at the back of
church.

Please
pray with us that we would grow as disciples, and be enabled to make
more disciples, during 2018!

Look up, not inside!

I found this article really helpful on how to face our struggles and our sins. Some of the words are long but it's worth persevering with. Don't look in at yourself; look up at Christ!

Responding to God's overflowing generosity

by Steve Wilcox

Jesus has been invited to dine at the house of a Pharisee named
Simon. As he reclines at the table, a woman comes in to the room and stands
behind him. We're told that she “was a sinner in the town” - though we're given
no more detail than that. She begins to cry – floods of tears, as she is
overwhelmed with emotion at the gratitude she feels towards Jesus. Her tears
fall on his feet, so she loosens her hair and wipes his feet with her hair before
anointing them with perfume.

Jesus's host is not impressed – he cannot get beyond the fact that
this woman is a sinner and Jesus shouldn't be relating to her. So Jesus tells
him a story.

“Two people owed money to a certain money-lender. One owed him five
hundred denarii (two years' wages today); the other fifty (two months wages
today). Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave them
both.” (Luke 7:42). It's easy to miss how remarkable this is. When was the last
time you heard of a high street bank, let alone a loan shark, willingly and
voluntarily cancelling a person's debts? And Jesus is using this as a picture
of God's generosity towards sinners like you and me, in forgiving our sins.

Jesus goes on by showing that the woman's overflowing emotional
response to Jesus is a result of her overflowing gratitude to him for the
forgiveness she has found through him. (Luke 7:47).

We are left with a question, and a lesson. The question is – have
we appreciated the forgiveness that is available to us in Jesus? Have we
appreciated the depth of our sinfulness – the amount that we have been
forgiven? Why not write down all the ways in which you have sinned “in thought,
word and deed” over the past day – week – year – 20 years – and then give thanks
that through trusting in Jesus it is all forgiven.

The lesson is – as we reflect on how much we've been forgiven by
our generous God, we cannot help but respond to him (like the woman) with
overflowing gratitude, love, and service. How will you respond?

For those who fail everyday

Here's an encouraging article for those of us - like me - who know that we fail everyday.

Worship in your waiting

Here's a link to a helpful article about how to wait for things as a Christian.

MAKING THE VISION A REALITY - 3. SEND DISCIPLES TO BLESS THE ANLABY COMMUNITIES

by
Steve Wilcox

On
November 6
I spoke on a vision for St Peter's and St Mark's for the coming year.
I encouraged us to think of the church family as a vine - an image
that Jesus uses in John 15. As it receives its nutrients a vine
grows, spreading out across the wall or fence on which it is located.
It bears fruit as it grows, bringing delight to the owner of the vine
and to others. It seems to me that the image of the vine is a good
image for us to remember this year, as we continue to work out our
purpose to be “a Christ-centred community existing to spread a
passion for Jesus Christ in the Anlaby Communities and beyond.”

In
my sermon I presented 3 approaches we intend to take as a church, in
order to fulfil our purpose. These 3 purposes have been agreed by the
Church Councils. I'd
like to explain a bit more about the three approaches. In this
article I'll explain the third approach.

Approach
3 – Send disciples to bless the Anlaby Communities

As
a vine spreads across a wall or fence, it bears fruit – delicious
fruit which can be used for a great variety of purposes, bringing
blessing to many. In the same way, we long to be a blessing to the
Anlaby Communities. When God makes his great promises to Abraham, he
says “All peoples will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3).
Later on, when God's people are in exile in Babylon, God tells them
to “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have
carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, for if it prospers,
you also will prosper” (Jeremiah 29:7). In the New Testament, Jesus
tells his followers “You are the light of the world. A town built
on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it
under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to
everyone in the house” (Matthew 5:14-15). And in Galatians Paul
writes “As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people,
especially to those who belong to the family of believers”
(Galatians 6:10).

How
do we “send disciples to bless the Anlaby Communities”? A great
deal of this already happens quietly, behind the scenes. There are
members of the church family who visit other needy and lonely people;
those who serve as school governors, on the parish council, or on
other community bodies. There are those who visit the schools and day
centres. There are those who are salt and light in the local U3A
groups and other community groups, not to mention in their
workplaces. On 6 June we will be holding a day of prayer
at St Peter's (more details to follow). In advance of that, I hope
that those who serve in the community in different ways will be able
to let us know, so that we can give thanks and pray for them.

Second,
there are more organised groups which seek to bless the Anlaby
Communities. Light lunches would be a good example of this –
providing a meal and fellowship twice a month.

Third,
there's the Anlaby Communities Trust (ACT). This was set up a couple
of years ago, as a vehicle for St Peter's and St Mark's churches to
serve the community, as well as providing a suitable means of
operating the St Mark's pre-school. Already through ACT we have been
able to provide food parcels to a number of needy people in the
community, and to provide a forum for various community groups to
meet together and share ideas.

On
10 June, the Anlaby Communities Day is being held at the
St Mark's site. This is a fantastic opportunity for us to make
connections with the community, as well as to bring the Anlaby
Communities and their various organisations together on one occasion.
A huge amount of work has gone into the planning of the day – in
particular by Gill King, Katie Waltham and Sarah Haynes, who are all
trustees of ACT. Do come along and support the day; do help in some
way if you're able to; and do please pray for the day (not least that
it doesn't rain!)

MAKING THE VISION A REALITY - 2. MAKE DISCIPLES WHO MAKE DISCIPLES

by
Steve Wilcox

On
November 6
I spoke on a vision for St Peter's and St Mark's for the coming year.
I encouraged us to think of the church family as a vine - an image
that Jesus uses in John 15. As it receives its nutrients a vine
grows, spreading out across the wall or fence on which it is located.
It bears fruit as it grows, bringing delight to the owner of the vine
and to others. It seems to me that the image of the vine is a good
image for us to remember this year, as we continue to work out our
purpose to be “a Christ-centred community existing to spread a
passion for Jesus Christ in the Anlaby Communities and beyond.”

In
my sermon I presented 3 approaches we intend to take as a church, in
order to fulfil our purpose. These 3 purposes have been agreed by the
Church Councils. I'd
like to explain a bit more about the three approaches. In this
article I'll explain the second approach.

Approach
2 – Make disciples who make disciples

It's
a few years since I took biology GCSE, so I thought I'd do some
research into how vines grow. I discovered that there are two main
causes of growth – cell division, and cell growth. That is, the
cells within the vine (and its berries) expand, and at some point
they divide to produce new cells, which then grow, and so on. (If
there are any biologists amongst us they might be able to help us
even more to understand this!) In the same way, the vine which is the
church grows through Christians growing in their faith, and
Christians helping others to grow in their faith. Jesus uses this
very image in John 15, in which Jesus himself is “the vine”, and
his followers – those who remain in him because they remain in his
Word – are the branches of the vine.

Let's
think of this through the eyes of Matthew, whose gospel we looked at
in the autumn. For Matthew, every follower of Jesus is a disciple –
that's what “disciple” means. If you call yourself a Christian,
then you are a disciple. And what we find in Matthew's gospel is that
the disciples grow in their faith as Jesus disciples them – as he
teaches and trains them. So in some places we find him teaching them
(eg the Sermon on the Mount); in other places we see him modelling
the Christian life to them (eg Matthew 11:1, 8:18-20); sometimes he
trains them (eg Matthew 10); at other times he rebukes them (eg
Matthew 16:23); and at other times he encourages them (eg Matthew
13:16-17).

Then,
at the end of Matthew's gospel, Jesus gives his marching orders - “Go
and make disciples of all nations...” (Matthew 28:19). In other
words, the disciples are to learn from all that he has shown them –
and they are to do the same with others, in his name.

This
being discipled and making disciples is the key ingredient to the
growth of the church / vine / body of Christ. It is the engine, the
driver, the cell growth and cell division. It is something that every
member of the church family – every disciple – should be
concerned about and keen to see. Which is why we have made it one of
our key approaches to “Make disciples who make disciples.”

But
we might be able to think of several objections at this point.
Someone might say “But I don't want to take my Christian faith too
seriously – it's just one part of my life after all.” But Matthew
would respond that every Christian is a disciple; and we find out
what it means to be a disciple in the Bible. We are not at liberty to
define for ourselves what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ –
we must allow him to define it for us.

Someone
else might say “This makes it sound like I'm someone else's project
– to disciple me.” Nobody is anybody else's project; rather, each
of us are disciples and it's right that we seek to grow as disciples
and welcome others who seek to help us in that endeavour.

Another person might say “I don't know how to grow as a disciple, let alone
how to make disciples.” And it's fine not to know – but how about
asking someone to show you what it looks like? There are a number of
us who would be more than happy to talk to you about that.

How
might we do this?

So
how might we as a church family “Make disciples who make
disciples”? In the vision sermon I set out a number of ways in
which we might seek to do this.

>
Sundays
must be our starting point. We meet as God's people to encounter God,
to worship him, to be changed by him, and to be sent out to serve him
in the week ahead. In other words, we meet to grow as disciples, to
encourage each other, and to praise God as disciples of the Lord
Jesus. Let's go to church with that attitude, Sunday by Sunday.

>
Life groups
– Numbers of people are finding that Life groups are a fantastic
way of growing as disciples, as they hear God speak to them regularly
in a more intimate setting than Sundays provide. It also gives more
opportunity to think about what God is saying to each of us
personally, as well as to pray for each other.

>
Meeting one-to-one – discipling one another
– A number of people in the church family meet together in groups
of two or three to read the bible, talk about living as a Christian,
and pray together. This can be done formally or informally, but I
recommend it highly. I've heard it said that each Christian needs a
Paul (someone to disciple them), a Barnabas (someone to walk
alongside them and encourage them), and a Timothy (someone to
disciple).

>
Discipleship in our DNA – The
Ministry team are currently reading a book called “The Vine
Project”, which makes suggestions as to how making disciples can
become part of the culture of the church. Please pray for the
leadership of the church as we seek to make this more and more a
reality, for God's glory.

Making the Vision a reality - 1. Resource mission in West Hull

by
Steve Wilcox

On
November 6
I spoke on a vision for St Peter's and St Mark's for the coming year.
I encouraged us to think of the church family as a vine - an image
that Jesus uses in John 15. As it receives its nutrients a vine
grows, spreading out across the wall or fence on which it is located.
It bears fruit as it grows, bringing delight to the owner of the vine
and to others. It seems to me that the image of the vine is a good
image for us to remember this year, as we continue to work out our
purpose to be “a Christ-centred community existing to spread a
passion for Jesus Christ in the Anlaby Communities and beyond.”

In
my sermon I presented 3 approaches we intend to take as a church, in
order to fulfil our purpose. These 3 purposes have been agreed by the
Church Councils. I'd
like to explain a bit more about the three approaches. I'll explain
the first approach in this article, then in subsequent articles I'll
explain the other two approaches.

Approach
1 – Resource Mission in West Hull

As
we think about the vine, we imagine it gradually spreading across the
wall or fence on which it is located. In the same way we long for the
spiritual vine to grow across the Anlaby Communities and across Hull
as more and more people come to a saving and life-transforming faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The
need for the gospel in Hull is very great – as I set out in my
recent post (see below). But it's not just about church
attendance. It's about people's relationship with God, and the
transformation that brings to lives.

The
greatest need of every human being is a personal relationship with
God through Jesus Christ. Jesus warns us that hell is a real place,
and because of the human condition of sin those who have not put
their trust in Jesus will go there for eternity. But “God so loved
the world that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes
in him shall not perish (eternally) but have eternal life.” (John
3:16). People need to hear about the Lord Jesus and to put their
faith in him in order to have life with him for all eternity.

But
Jesus doesn't just transform our eternal life; he transforms our life
now as well. We are aware of many social problems in the Anlaby
Communities and in Hull; and yet the reality is that the single best
way of helping a person's social needs is for them to come to a
living faith in Jesus Christ. We see countless examples of this in
the gospels – as a person comes to know Jesus Christ, their whole
life is transformed for the better. (See, for example, Mark 5:15,
18-20; Matthew 9:22; Luke 7:36-50). I could tell more stories of how
this has been the case in West Hull in the 21
century. To summarise then, people desperately need to know Jesus
Christ for themselves – and this means people in Anlaby, Anlaby
Common, Anlaby Park, Rokeby Park, as well as the rest of West Hull
and the surrounding villages.

It
may be hard to believe, but relative to most other Anglican churches
- and most other evangelical churches - in West Hull, we at St
Peter's and St Mark's are well resourced. And God has given us a
vision to work with other gospel-centred churches. And therefore it
is right that we should seek to work with others to resource mission
in West Hull.

How
might we do this?

In
the vision sermon I set out 3 ways in which we might seek to do this.

>
Annual programme of outreach
– I have asked John Telford to help us to develop an annual
programme of outreach, so that we have regular events to which we can
all invite our family, friends, colleagues and neighbours to hear the
good news of Jesus Christ.

>
Work
with other gospel-centred churches
– We will seek to work with other gospel-centred churches as much
as we can, so that we can help one another in the vital task of
mission.

>
Plant
churches
– A church plant is a new congregation: for example, the 4pm
service. The desperate need for the gospel compels
us to find ways to reach whole new communities. There are currently
communities within our parishes we are not reaching, and of course
communities elsewhere in the city who are not being reached. We may
not be in a position to plant a church just yet; but we can plan and
pray to that end. It is much better to have a plan to plant churches
when we are small, rather than when we are large and comfortable.

Do
pray for the leadership of the church as we plan and pray more about
these things. And if you have any ideas, or would like to get
involved, do speak to myself, John Telford or a warden.

The way forward 4 - Services and Buildings

by
Steve Wilcox

In
February, I spoke of the need to discern the next “stepping stone”
for us as a church family on two sites. We have great opportunities –
as set out by our Vision and Mission Action Plan. But we also have
limited resources – particularly as regards workers. I said that we
therefore need to discern the best way to use the resources available
to us. With that in mind, John Truscott came to visit us. John is an
independent church consultant, and is able to provide a wise,
independent perspective on complex issues to do with church life. We
asked him to consider some questions, including “What is the best
'next step' for the churches?”and
“Any reflections on the best use of the sites available to us?”

John
was very encouraged by his visit, and noticed a number of things that
we do particularly well. However, there were also things we didn't do
so well, and inevitably it is those things we need to focus on as we
respond to what he said!

John
made a number of recommendations, all of which have recently been
approved by our Church Councils. I thought it would be helpful to
write about some of those recommendations – to explain them, and
begin to reflect on what they might mean for us as a church family,
and for the wider community.

Recommendation 4: Keep
both main services and both sites, but focus on St Mark's site for
development

John
saw no reason to change our current service structure. He wrote “It
might be unwise to aim for a further change in service pattern until
you see the results of your other changes forcing you to do so.”
The other changes he was referring to were the changes in attitude –
towards discipleship and mission – that were discussed in earlier
blog posts. In other words, it may be that as we move forward in our
spiritual growth and our witness to the community there is a place
for further changes in service structure – but we haven't reached
that point yet. Of course we might be forced into such a change (if,
for example, we don't have enough people serving to enable us to
operate the services) but, all things being equal, we should try to
avoid it for the time being. Furthermore, John pointed out that there
is plenty of scope for ongoing development in the existing services,
to make them more edifying for believers and accessible for
newcomers.

The
question of service pattern is linked to the question of buildings
and sites. It goes without saying that if we were to close a
building, one of the main services would have to stop, or at least
re-locate! But John's advice was “This may not be where you would
like to start from but you have your two sites and to close either
would surely distract you from your priorities above. One has
heritage, one has flexibility. Two sites give you greater visibility
even if one of them is not in an ideal location. I see no reason for
making major decisions for change just at the moment.” In other
words, let's give thanks for the buildings and sites we have, and
focus on mission and discipleship rather than be distracted by
discussions about which building we might close and all the effort
that would entail!

However,
following from his comments above - about the flexibility of the St
Mark's site and the St Peter's site not being in the ideal location -
John did also have this to say: “The more you can make St Mark’s
fit for purpose, though, the better - although I assume that the cost
of such changes could be prohibitive. I would focus your outreach
strategy on this site, although work for occasional offices may need
to be more St Peter’s focused.” In other words, because of the
size and flexibility of the St Mark's site, it makes sense to focus
on that site as regards future development. With that in mind,
discussions have begun to take place about possible medium-term
changes to the St Mark's site, which I hope to discuss with the
Church Councils in due course.

The
St Peter's site, on the other hand, is much loved and appreciated as
it is; although that doesn't mean we can't make positive changes to
it, which we hope to in due course.

Having
said all that, it goes without saying that if we are to continue to
operate both sites we need the finances and the people to enable us
to do it. With that in mind, we are very thankful for the numbers of
people who have helped in maintaining the buildings in recent years.
In order to grow the numbers of people involved, we have recently
formed three “Buildings teams” - one for each building - and we
hope that members of that team will take responsibility for each
building so that the wardens can take a more “high level” view,
rather than being too “hands on.” Do let me know if you'd be
interested in being involved in one of the teams, or in helping us to
maintain or develop one of the buildings or sites.

The Way Forward 3 - Leadership

by Steve Wilcox

In
February, I spoke of the need to discern the next “stepping stone”
for us as a church family on two sites. We have great opportunities –
as set out by our Vision and Mission Action Plan. But we also have
limited resources – particularly as regards workers. I said that we
therefore need to discern the best way to use the resources available
to us. With that in mind, John Truscott came to visit us. John is an
independent church consultant, and is able to provide a wise,
independent perspective on complex issues to do with church life. We
asked him to consider some questions, including “What is the best
'next step' for the churches?”

John
was very encouraged by his visit, and noticed a number of things that
we do particularly well. However, there were also things we didn't do
so well, and inevitably it is those things we need to focus on as we
respond to what he said!

John
made a number of recommendations, all of which have recently been
approved by our Church Councils. I thought it would be helpful to
write about some of those recommendations – to explain them, and
begin to reflect on what they might mean for us as a church family,
and for the wider community.

Recommendation 3:
Simplify decision-making structures

John
observed that our decision-making structures as a church family were
quite complex. We have two Church Councils (one for each church), the
vicar and church wardens, and what was formerly named the Leadership
Team. John noted that “What
does need to change is your decision-making structures so that you
have one church, one PCC (Church Council) and, as now, one Leadership
Team.” John also observed the danger of overlap between the work of
the Leadership team and the Church Councils, and therefore the need
for the work of the Leadership team to be clearly defined. Finally,
he observed that “Your key workers appear to be over-busy to an
extent that is not sustainable in the medium-term.”

The
main change we have made as a result of John's recommendations is
that the Church Councils of the two churches have agreed to meet
together in the future. This has now taken place three times, and I
have already observed a huge difference: Members of the Church
Councils are getting to know each other better, and to see things
from one another's point of view. They are also being enabled to see
the “bigger picture” of the ministry of the two parishes. Finally,
it means that decisions only need to be made once, rather than twice
as in former times!

As
regards the role of the Leadership Team: The team's name has been
changed to “the Ministry Team” to reflect the fact that
leadership is shared between vicar and wardens, Church Councils and
the Team. The role of the team has been defined as helping myself and
the wardens to enact the decisions that are made by the Church
Council, as well as advising me. [An analogy with the Cabinet and
Parliament in UK politics is not exact, but is helpful nonetheless.]

Finally,
as regards key workers being over-busy: This is not an issue that can
be solved immediately. We are doing our best to work in teams,
seeking to ensure that no-one is on too many teams and thus becoming
overwhelmed. We are also committed to helping every member of the
church family identify and develop their gifts, trusting that Christ
has gifted his church in exactly the way he wishes so that she might
be built up. And we are trusting for his grace in the meantime! I
would close by asking that if you are currently wondering how you can
serve in the life of the church family and feel that you have some
more capacity to do so, do please have a word with me – you might
be the answer to our prayers!

The Way Forward 2 - Discipleship

by Steve Wilcox

In
February, in my “Vision” sermon, I spoke of the need to discern
the next “stepping stone” for us as a church family on two sites.
We have great opportunities – as set out by our Vision and Mission
Action Plan. But we also have limited resources – particularly as
regards workers. I said that we therefore need to discern the best
way to use the resources available to us. With that in mind, John
Truscott came to visit us. John is an independent church consultant,
and is able to provide a wise, independent perspective on complex
issues to do with church life. We asked him to consider some
questions, including “What is the best 'next step' for the
churches?”

John
was very encouraged by his visit, and noticed a number of things that
we do particularly well. However, there were also things we didn't do
so well, and inevitably it is those things we need to focus on as we
respond to what he said!

John
made a number of recommendations, all of which have recently been
approved by our Church Councils. I thought it would be helpful to
write about some of those recommendations – to explain them, and
begin to reflect on what they might mean for us as a church family,
and for the wider community.

Recommendation 2: Make
it a priority to develop a new passion for practical discipleship.

John
observed that one of our strengths in our preaching and teaching at
St Mark's and St Peter's is the correct handling of God's Word the
Bible. This is fantastic, and something to give thanks for: sadly
there are many churches around the country for which this isn't the
case. Often the Bible is used by the preacher as nothing more than a
springboard, giving them an excuse to say what they want to say
rather than what God says in his Word! May God in his mercy enable us
to continue to handle his Word better and better.

However,
he observed that our application of God's Word into all of life is
not as good as it might be. This is why he recommends “a new
passion for practical discipleship” and a focus on “the practical
application of discipleship.”

In
other words, as God's Word the Bible is taught and preached, God is
speaking to us by his Holy Spirit. He is speaking to us about our
lives, our priorities, our thinking, and in particular how we can
relate to him as our Creator, Saviour, Lord and Judge. How much are
we aware of this? Do we go away having had our thinking changed, and
therefore aware of what difference what we have heard will make to
our lives on Monday morning or Wednesday evening or Saturday
afternoon?

There
is a challenge here for those (including myself) who teach and
preach: It is right that we “correctly handle God's Word”, and
ensure that what we are saying is what God is saying. But when this
has happened, our work is not yet done. We need to help God's people
to see the “cash value” of God's Word – the difference his Word
makes to how God's people view God and themselves, and how they live
Monday to Saturday.

But
there is more to it than that. I think John's recommendation
encourages every one of us to ask a fundamental question: Do we view
ourselves as disciples? Do we see ourselves as those who have been
called by God, into his family, and are being changed by him more and
more into the likeness of his Son Jesus Christ? (see 1 Corinthians
3:18). Do we see being part of God's family not just as something for
Sunday morning, but for every day? Do we see that our faith is not
just for Sunday, but for every part of our lives? In terms of our
Values as a church – do we see the importance of Deepening in our
faith? If we do, then we will be constantly seeking to hear God speak
to us through his Word, and we will be asking him to reveal how what
he has said changes us and the way we live our lives. And then, of
course, we will be asking him to empower us, by his Holy Spirit, to
be changed.

What
might this mean practically? It might mean meeting up with a
Christian friend to talk about how God is working in our lives –
and to pray for how we would like him to work. It might mean joining
a Life group, so we can encourage others and be encouraged in our
faith. It might mean asking to meet with someone to find out more
about how we can read the Bible for ourselves, and put its teaching
into practice (do have a word with me if you'd be interested in
arranging something like this). It might mean listening to the sermon
again on Monday morning (every sermon is available on our website),
and praying that God would show us the difference it will make for us
in the office, in our families, in our leisure time in the week
ahead.

What does it mean for you?

The Way Forward 1 - Reach Out

by Steve Wilcox

In
February, in my “Vision” sermon, I spoke of the need to discern
the next “stepping stone” for us as a church family on two sites.
We have great opportunities – as set out by our Vision and Mission
Action Plan. But we also have limited resources – particularly as
regards workers. I said that we therefore need to discern the best
way to use the resources available to us. With that in mind, John
Truscott came to visit us. John is an independent church consultant,
and is able to provide a wise, independent perspective on complex
issues to do with church life. We asked him to consider some
questions, including “What is the best 'next step' for the
churches?”

John
was very encouraged by his visit, and noticed a number of things that
we do particularly well. However, there were also things we didn't do
so well, and inevitably it is those things we need to focus on as we
respond to what he said!

John
made a number of recommendations, all of which have recently been
approved by our Church Councils. I thought it would be helpful to
write about some of those recommendations – to explain them, and
begin to reflect on what they might mean for us as a church family,
and for the wider community.

Recommendation 1: Make
it a priority to reach out with the good news of Jesus Christ into
your community through a well-designed outreach strategy.

John
observed that we are very good as a church family at caring for each
other, and at discipling one another in the faith. However, he
observed that our outreach into the community is not what it might
be. In particular, he observed that as a church we don't have an
organised outreach strategy; nor, as individuals, are we as good at
sharing the gospel with others, and inviting others to events, as we
might be.

My
own feeling is that John Truscott is right about this. If we are
seeking to grow as a church, then we
need to be attracting other people into the life of the church. And
this will happen as we organise events that people would like to come
to, and as we invite them to those events.

Since
John Truscott's visit, we have been privileged to take part in the
West Hull Area Mission. This was very encouraging in all sorts of
ways, and I believe that we need to make sure we build on the
momentum that the Mission gave us. We need to make it a priority to
devise an “annual programme of outreach events”, so that we all
have something we can invite someone to.

Some
of us might say “I don't know anyone who's not a Christian.” But
I'm sure when we stop to think about it we do – our neighbours, our
family members, the people we meet at U3A or the gym. Others
might say “I don't know how to invite them.” That's a fair point
– but why don't we encourage one another, and share ideas, so that
we're more confident. And
of course, it all begins with prayer. Why not start praying for 3
people you know, that they might come to a living faith in Jesus
Christ, and to see the wonderful difference knowing him makes to life. You never know what God might do in someone's life if you ask
him to!